Apparatus for feeding plaster board into a drying kiln



c, 'ABSMEIER May 7,l 1935.

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PLASTER BOARD INQJ A DRYING KILN Filed Sept. 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 7, 1935. c. ABsMElER 2,000,269

`APPRATUS FOR FEEDING PLASTER BOARD INTO DRYING KILN Filed sept. 29, 1928 4 sheets-sheet 2 l C. ABSMEIER May 7, 1935.

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PLASTER BOARD INTO A DRYING KILN Filed Sept. 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENToR CCFPZbSMe/e MJ?? ATToR Y rei fffllflllll .IfIllillralnlfllnlllllillffff! rifiuti.

May 7, 1935- i c. ABSMEIR 2,000,269

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PLASTER BOARD INTO A DRYING KILN Filed Sept. 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4y ATToRNE Patented May 7, 1.935

PATENT OFFICE- APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PLASTEB BOARD INTO A DRYING KILN Carl Absmeier, La Grange Park, Ill., asslgnor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application September 29, 1928, Serial No. 309,172

5Clalms.

This invention relates to the method of feeding plaster board, wallboard or other Sheets of material into drying kilns to remove the moisture in said material.

The invention further relates to a machine suitable for carrying out the above described method.

An object of this invention is to provide a method of and machine for feeding'plaster boards into drying kilns in which the drying kiln is located parallel to a setting conveyor where the plastic core of the plaster board is allowed to set, this arrangement of conveyorand drying kiln being adapted to conserve floor space in a factory.

Another object of the invention is to provide a feeding mechanism for a drying kiln in which the plaster board is fed into the drying kiln at different elevations or decks in order to provide a high capacity for the drying kiln.

A further object of the invention is to provide a kiln feed mechanism in which the direction of motion of the boards is automatically reversed to impel the'board toward the kiln; also to improve methods of and machines for feeding sheets of material into drying kilns or other devices, in other respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication in which, l

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation Si.' my improved kiln feed device, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the improved kiln feed mechanism, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the kiln feed mechanism, Fig. 4 is a sectional View through the machine taken r on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the machine taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional plan view of a portion of the control mechanism, Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation on a large scale, of the driving mechanism, and Fig 8 is a sectional elevation of the control cam.

The plaster board of commerce is usually coniposed of a pair of heavy paper sheets separated by a core of cementitious material such as gypsum.

' In the manufacture of this plaster board, the upapplied and a roller rolls the material to the desired thickness of board. This specially prepared board with the cementitious material still in its plastic condition, is passed for a considerable distance over a setting conveyor which gives a time period suflicient to permit the setting of the gypsum. When the gypsum has nearly set, the plaster boards are cut to length, continued along the setting conveyor and then passed through a drying' kiln which is usually of the continuous type in the form of an elongated tunnel.

Owing to the great length of both the setting conveyor and the drying kiln, it is desirable that the setting conveyor and the drying kiln be positioned parallel to each other in order to conserve oor space and to prevent an abnormally long `building. In order to provide such a desirable arrangement of setting conveyor and drying kilns, it is necessary that the board, during its path of travel, double back upon itself to enter the drying kiln. 'Ihis drying kiln is usually several decks in height so as to further minimize the floor space required. The present invention, therefore, is directed tothe point in the apparatus in which the board doubles back on itself, to enter the drying kiln and means are provided for accomplishing this doubling back of the board automatically, and the feeding of the boards into the kiln Without -manual effort.

The automatic doubling back or reversing mechanism for the plaster boards, comprises a framework I0 of any desired shape to properly support the` mechanism of the invention, and standards II, supporting said framework. The plaster boards I2, which have been manufactured as herein above described, pass along the setting conveyor I3, the same being preferably composed of a series of rollers I4, which may be positively driven, if desired, by a mechanism not shown. In lieu of a positive drive for the rollers' I4, the setting conveyor I3 may be inclined at an angle to the horizontal as shown in Fig. 2, in which case the plaster boards. pass down the conveyor I3 under the influence of gravity. The conveyor I3 is 4preferably of considerable length so that the plastic material has a chance to set before the boards are cut to desired lengths, and continued in their movements along the conveyor I3.

Near one end of the conveyor I3, is a roller I which is rotatably supported at one end of a pair of oppositely disposed arms I6, said arms being I pivotally mounted at the other end on pins, I 'I secured to the conveyor I3. 'I'he roller I5 is provided with a centrally located shaft I8, and a pulley I9 is secured to one end. of said shaft, said pulley being operatively connected by a belt 20 to another idler pulley 2| which is rotatably supported by the conveyor I3. A tightener pulley, 22, is mounted to contact withl the belt 20, said pulley 22 being rotatably mounted on the end-of a pivotally mounted arm 23 so as to maintain a tension vertical movement of the roller I5. The pulley 2I 4is secured to a rotatably mounted shaft 24, and

a second pulley 25 is also secured to said shaft and is connected by a belt 26 to a suitable source of power such as a speed reducer 21 operatively connected to an electric motor 29.

As the plaster boards I2 travel down the roller conveyor I3 they come into contact with the roller I5, and are driven forwardly by said roller I5, the plaster boards at the same time, raising the roller I the thickness of said boards, so as to permit the passage of said boards under the roller I5. The roller I5, thus drives the plaster boards I2 down the 'conveyor I3 at a uniform speed. -As the plaster board I2 continues to move down the conveyor I3 under the action of' drive roller I5, it soon makes contact with a series of rollers, 29, said rollers being secured to a shaft 39.

The outer ends of shaft 39 are carried in bearing slots 3I formed in a bracket 32, the latter being secured to the conveyor 42 in any suitable way such as by rivets 33. 'I 'he slot 9| is substantially arcuate in shape so that the shaft 39 can move a limited distance through an arcuate path, this movement of the shaft 39 being controlled by arms 34 pivoted on shaft 2I at one end, and rotatably receiving the shaft 30 at the other end thereof. A pulley 36 securedtoA the shaft 24, is connected by a belt 31, to a pulley 39 which is secured to the shaft 39, thus causing the rotation of the rollers 29, and the forward movement of the plaster board I2 below said rollers 29. An idler roller 99 is rotatably mounted immediately below the rollers 29, so that the plaster board I2 is rmly held and propelled forwardly between rollers 29 and 99. l

After the plaster board I2 passes beyond the rollers 29 and99, it falls onto a series of idler rollers 4I which are rotatably mounted on a framework 42. The alternate driven rollers 4Ia are provided near one end with a pulley 44a secured to the shaft 49 on which the roller 4I is mounted. A drive belt 44 passes in friction contact with the pulley 44a and around end pulley 44h and pulley 45. The'pulley 45 is secured to a shaft 46 which is mounted immediately below a shaft 41 which carries the roller 99. A friction roller 49 is secured to the `outer end of shaft 46 in contact with a friction pulley 49 which is rotatably mounted on the outer end of shaft 41, so that shaft 46 is normally driven byshaft 41, through friction contact between the pulleys 49 and 49., 'I'he pulley 49 is normally driven by friction contact with a friction -pulley 59 which is secured to `the end of shaft 99. The pulley149 is' rotatably mounted on the shaft 41 so that forward movement of the plaster board over the roll 99 does not cause the rotation of the pulley 49. The belt 44 passes over an upper pulley 52 which is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 59.

When the board starts through the space between rollers 29 and 99, the rollers 29 are elevated and swing on arms 94 about shaft 24 as a-pivot. This upward movement of the rolls 29, causes the pulley 59 to contact with pulley 54 secured on the outer end of the stub shaft 59. Thus, when the board is passing through the rolls 29 and 99, the contact of pulley 59 with pulley 54, causes the rolls 4 Ia to be driven in a counter clockwise direction so as to carry the board up the incline formed by said rolls 4I. After' the board has completely passed therolls 29 and 99, the pulley 59 is disconnected from the pulley 54, and is then connected with pulley 49 to reverse the motion of belt 44 and rolls 4Ia t'o a clockwise direction, so as to cause the board to move downwardly along the incline formed by rolls 4I.

As the direction of motion of the board is reversed, the board moves downwardly along rollers 4I onto a series of idler rollers 56 which are rotatably mounted on a tilting conveyor frame 51. 'Ihe frame 51 is pivotally supported near the top of a standard II, on a tube 56, which is mounted vin bearing bracket 59 secured to said standard I I. Bearing bracket 69 is securedto the tilting frame 51, and is pivotally supported on the ends of tube 59, a collar 6I outside of said bearing 60, serving as a support for a washer 62. A shaft 63 passes through the center of the washer 62 and through the tube 58, said shaft being provided at one end with a laterally extended pin 64, which serves to confine a spring 65 between said -pin and the washer 62 so as to normally urge the shaft 63 to the right, as seen in Fig. 6. The mechanism connected with the shaft 63, will be more fully described.

As the plaster boards move downwardly with the rollers, 56, their movement is hastened by causing some of the rollers 56a to be positively driven in a clockwise direction, as seen in'Fig. 2. This is accomplished by mounting pulleys 61 on the outer ends of some of theshafts 68 which support said rollers, a drive belt 69 passing over said pulleys, and around an end drive -pulley 19. The pulley is mounted upon roller shaft 1 I, and

another pulley 12 is secured to seid shaft 1I, said. pulley 12 being connected by a drive belt 13 to another pulley 14 which is secured to a counter shaft 15. A pulley 16 is also secured to the shaft 15, and is connected by a drive belt 11 to a pulley 19 .which is mounted on the shaft of a motor 19, the latter being secured to the underside of framework51. I. -g

As previously pointed out in the description a drying kiln 89 for the plaster board is preferably arranged below or parallel to the setting conveyor I3 so as to conserve floor space. drying kiln 90 is usually constructed with a plurality of decks which are indicated in this case as A, B, C, and D gspectively. Inclined roller conveyors 9| lead these corresponding kiln decks and convey the plaster board from the lower end 92 of tilting frame 51 to said kiln decks. In order to rock the tilting frame 51 aboutits pivot 58, sothat the lower end 92 thereof, registers with the desired roller conveyor 9|, a suitable control mechanism is attached to said framework 51, to shift the position of said framework at the -proper instant.

This control mechanism includes lugs 94 secured tothe side of framework 51, a connecting rod 95 being pivotally connected at one end to a lug 94, and at the other end to a crank pin 96 secured on a gear wheel 61. A pinion 99 meshes with the gear wheel 91, said pinion being secured to a sleeve 99 which is rotatably mounted on a shaft 99. The sleeve 99 is provided with the usual clutch -dum 9|, so that when'clutch head 92 is frictionally engaged in the drum 9I, the pinion 99 will be rotated by the shaft 99. A continuous rotation of the shaft 99 is accomplished in any suitable way, such as by. abevel pinion 99 meshing with a ybevel gear 94, the latter being secured to a drive shaft 95 connected to any suitable source of power, not shown.

The clutch head 92 is slidably, but not rotatably mounted relative to the shaft 99, and the usual toggle links 96 are connected between said clutch head 92 and a collar 91. The collar 91 is This provided with an annular groove 88, and pins 39 are provided on the end of a lever |00, so that as thevclutch head collar 31 is moved axiallyof the shaft 90, the. leverl will be rocked aboutits pivot pinv |0|. The'lower end of the lever |03 is provided with a laterally extending catch arm |02 which is normally urged byspring |03, to enter one of a plurality of slots |04 formed in tlie'outer opposite the roller conveyor 8| corresponding to say deck A of the drying kiln. The next movement of the tilting frame 51 would vbring its lower end 82, opposite roller conveyor of deck B of the drying kiln, and so on, until a board is de posited on each of the roller conveyors 8| which deliver to the drying kiln. A long segment |01 on the disc, |05, then causes the tilting frame 51 to move to the uppermost roller conveyor 8| opposite deck A, ready for anew cycle of operations. This movement of the tilting frame 51 is controlled entirely by the movement of the boards down the rollers 56. A roller I0 is rotatably mounted on the end of a lever the opposite end of said lever being secured to a rock shaft ||2 which-is rotatably mounted in suitable bearing brackets ||3 secured to frame 51. The outer end'of shaft |12 is provided with a lever ||4, the outer end of which is connected by a rod ||5 to a bell crank lever I9. (Fig. 6.) The bell crank lever ||8 is pivotally mounted on a pin ||1 secured to a bracket ||8, the latter being secured to the frame 51. The vfree end of bell crank lever ||9, is provided with a rounding surface ||3 which is adapted to contact with the end of shaft 53 so that when said lever ||6 is rocked,I the shaft 33 will be movedaxially. The end of shaft 83 opposite the lever` H6, is loosely received in a socket formed on a lever |2|, one end of said lever Cbeingpivotally mounted on pin |22, the latter being secured to a bracket |23 m'ounted on the framework of the machine.

A connecting rod |24 extends diagonally from` the free end of lever |2| to one arm of a bell crank lever |25, (Fig. 5), the latter being pivot' ally mounted on a bracket |29. The free end of lever |25 is pivotally securedto a rod |21, the latter being pivotally connected to one end of a lever |28 which is pivotally mounted on bracket |25. The free end of lever |28 is provided .with a. catch shoulder |29 which is adapted to engage the free end of a pawl |30, the latter being pivotally secured to the bracket |25. An arcuate link mi pivotally connects the pawl |30 to a bell crank lever |32, the latter being pivoted to bracket @2t by pin |32a. The free arm |33 of the lever |32, bears against the collar 91 so that when said lever :|32 is moved in a counter clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 5, the clutch head 92 is frictionally engaged into the clutch drum 9|, to

cause the rotation of shaft |09. and the movement of tilting frame 51. A spring |35 connected to the end of lever |32, normally tends to urge said lever in a counter clockwise direction, so as to cause the axial movement to the right of the clutch head 92. A crank disc, |35 is secured to the end of shaft |06 opposite` the gear wheel 81, and is connected by a rod |31 to a lug |38, which is similar to lug 84, and for the same purpose. A cam |33 is secured to the shaft 90 below the lever |32 so that one rotation.- of the shaft 30 formed, one on one arm of each of two bell crankA levers |43. The levers |43 are pivotally mounted on pin |44 and shaft |45 and their other arms are pivotally connected together by rod |43. A hand lever |41 is secured to the shaft |45 so that the operator may actuate said lever |41 if a damaged board appears, thus preventing the reversal of direction of rollers 4| and causing the damaged board to be moved to the extreme left (Fig. 2) into a container not shown.

In operation, the plaster board |2 moves down the inclined roller conveyor |3 under the action of gravity until it strikes the driven roller I5 which moves upwardly and engages the board, to drive it forwardly at a definite speed. As the board moves forwardly, it engages the roller 29 which also moves upwardly, carrying with it the friction pulley which is moved upwardly a sufflcient distance to engage the friction pulley 54 and causeA the latter pulley to rotate and drive the belt 44,'the latter causing the counter clockwise rotation of rollers 4|, as seen in Fig. '1. As the board is delivered from between the rollers 23 and 39, it is carried up the inclined roller conveyor by the rotating rollers 4|, and upon leaving said rollers 29 and 39, roller 29 moves downwardly until friction pulley 50 contacts with friction pulley 49, which reverses the motion of belt 44 and rollers 4|, sov as to reverse the movement of the plaster board and carry same forwardly onto rollers 56, on roller conveyor tilting frame 51.

The rollers 56 are positively driven in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 2, by the belt 5l, so that the plaster board moves down the tilting frame 51 until the forward edge of same engages the roller I0, causing said roller to move upwardly about pivot ||2. This upward movement of the roller, |10, operates the following mechanism In the order named;-lever ||4, rod ||5, lever III, shaft 53, lever |2|, rod |24, lever |25, rod |21, lever |28, pawl |30, link |3|, lever |32 and lever arm |33, so as to move the clutch head 32 into frictional contact with the clutch drum 3| thus causing the rotation with shaft 30, of pinion 88, gear wheel 81 and shaft 06, so as to operate crank connecting rods 85 arid |31. The movement of the clutch head 92 and collar 91, causes the lever |00, to move about pivot I0 so as to release catch arm |02 from the slot |04 in disc |01, this release permitting the shaft |05 to rotate, as hereinabove described. The crank rods 85 and |31, which are pivotally connected to lugs 84 and |38, respectively, on the tilting frame 51, support said tilting frame in exact registry with the desired deck of roller conveyors 8| which lead to the corresponding deck of the drying kiln. One rotation' of shaft causes cam |33 to engage lever |32 and restore pawl |30 behind catch shoulder |29 ready for a new cycle of operations. Damaged boards may be discharged to the left (Fig. 2) by` manually actuating lever 41. Thus, the plaster boards are successively directed into the desired decks of the drying kiln and the operation of inboards, a setting conveyor. a

4 y troducing the plaster board into the drying kiln. on the desired deck, is accomplished automatically and without the need of manual attention.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment or my invention, I do not limit myself precisely to the details hereinabove described, since manifestly the sameA can be` considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as donned in the appended claims. .1

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to .secure by Letters Patent:-

1. In a machine for the manufacture of plaster boards, a setting conveyor, a'. movable` conveyor frame associated with said setting conveyo crank means operatively connected to said framea drying kiln having a plurality of conveyor4 decks, and automatic means for actuating said crank means at predetermined intervals so as to cause said frame to deliver a plaster board to a predetermined deck of said drying kiln.

2. In a machine for the manufacture of plaster drying kiln associfor automatically conveyor to said drying kiln, and means adapted to be manually actuated so as to separate damaged boards and prevent the entry thereof into said drying kiln.

3. In'a machine for the manufacture of plaster boards,v a setting conveyor, a roller conveyor adapted to receive plaster boards ,fromsaid 'setting conveyor, means for causing the rotation of the rollers in said roller conveyors in one direction during the reception of said plaster board, means for automatically reversing the direction of rotation of said rollers after the plaster board has been delivered from said setting conveyor so as to change the direction of movement of said plaster v boards, sociated with said setting conveyor, a drying kiln associated with said roller conveyor, means for causing the rotation of the rollers in said roller conveyor in one direction during the reception of a plaster board from said setting conveyor, means for automatically reversing the direction of rotation of said rollers so as to cause said boards to be moved in the direction of said kiln, and manually actuated means adapted to prevent the reversal of motion of said rollers toseparate damaged boards and prevent the entry thereof into said drying kiln. n

- 5, In a machine for the manufacture of plaster boards, a setting conveyor, a tilting conveyor.

frame pivotally associated with said setting con-- veyor, a drying kiln having a plurality of roller conveyor decks, means for rocking said conveyor frame about the pivotthereof, a rotatably mounted disc associated with said conveyor frame, said disc having a plurality of locking grooves around its periphery, catch means adapted to successively engage in the grooves of said disc so as lock said conveyor frame in successive positions adjacent the decks ot said drying kiln and means for unlocking said catch from said disc at predetermined intervals so as to shiftsaid conveyor frame from one deck to a second deck of said kiln.

' CARL ABSMEIER. 

